Recent releases: 'Man of Steel,' 'This Is the End,' 'The Purge'

Jay Baruchel, Craig Robinson and Seth Rogen on the set of 'This Is The End.'

If every generation gets the Superman it deserves, "Man of Steel" from director Zack Snyder ("300) suggests we've earned one utterly without wit or charm. Minus the winks, flirtation and old-fashioned sentiment of the familiar "truth, justice and the American way" version of Superman, all actor Henry Cavill ("Immortals") gets to do is mix it up during a lot of "Transformers"-inspired brawls with armor-plated aliens and occasionally agonize over it all. Snyder goes out of his way to remove his film from the Christopher Reeve "Superman" movies and strips away the Man of Steel's American-ness to make his movie easier to sell overseas. Worse yet, he strips away all the whimsy and fun. His movie, and we, are poorer for it. Rated PG-13; sci-fi violence, action, destruction, language. 2 hours, 23 minutes. By Roger Moore, McClatchy-Tribune News Service.

"This Is the End"★★

Actors Seth Rogen and Jay Baruchel and a massive cast of Hollywood hipsters (James Franco, Craig Robinson, Rihanna, Michael Cera, Emma Watson, Paul Rudd, all playing themselves) head to Franco's house for a party. But then the Rapture happens (spoiler alert: none of the celebs gets called to heaven), and massive quakes reduce L.A. to rubble. Seth, Jay and company are left to fend for themselves amid an atmosphere of camaraderie, cowardice and cracks about the movies they've made. The film is at its buddy-movie, Hollywood-skewering best when it stays on the human level, but as events become more supernatural, "This Is the End" spirals into over-the-top silliness. Rated R; crude and sexual content, brief graphic nudity, language, drug use, violence. 1 hour, 47 minutes. By Cary Darling, Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

RECENT RELEASES

"After Earth"★★

This sci-fi adventure about a boy who must become a man to save himself and his wounded warrior father in a hostile future world is a corny, generally humorless picture from director M. Night Shyamalan ("The Sixth Sense," 2010's insipid "The Last Airbender") without his trademark surprises and twists. It's a straightforward quest in which incapacitated Dad (Will Smith) sends guilt-ridden, fearful teen son Kitai (Jaden Smith) off to seek help after their spaceship crashes during a trip to Earth, which was abandoned by humans centuries earlier. A Will Smith action film that has him grimacing on his back and giving instructions is nobody's idea of a lot of fun. Son Jaden, a kid with a hint of charisma, has to carry the film and doesn't have the presence to pull that off. Truth be told, the movie would never have been made had the elder Smith not cooked it up as yet another star effort for his son. Rated PG-13; sci-fi action and violence, disturbing images. 1 hour, 40 minutes. By Roger Moore, McClatchy-Tribune News Service.

"Fast & Furious 6" ★★

Bad movies are rarely as much fun as those spawned by 2001's "The Fast and the Furious." "F&F 6" pulls our boys Dom and Brian (Vin Diesel and Paul Walker) out of retirement one more time to help the feds (Dwayne Johnson and Gina Carano) nail a British villain (Luke Evans, well cast) who is bent on world domination. He's stealing parts for a device that will knock out a nation's communications, and he's doing it with wedge-shaped ramp cars and such. The movie runs out of gas for 30 minutes or more in the middle of everything. But the easy bonhomie of the cast, the jokey tone of the script and in-your-face slam-bang action (including a girl fight for the ages) make this junk food that goes down easily, regardless of how little nutritional value it has. Rated PG-13; intense violence and action, sexuality, language. 2 hours, 10 minutes. By Roger Moore, McClatchy-Tribune News Service.

"The Internship"★★★

Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson play two washed-up salesmen on the wrong side of 40 who vie with a bunch of mouthy millennials for a job at Google. If you can't guess that the geezers will teach the youngsters something about real life while the kids school them about Google Chrome, well, you've never seen a movie before. "The Internship" doesn't break any new comedic ground, and it will evaporate from memory soon after you leave the theater. But it's an amiable, occasionally laugh-out-loud fish-out-of-water tale that gently mocks our modern technological age while simultaneously embracing it. The movie is never critical of Google and never mentions recent controversies regarding privacy and censorship, but no one goes to a Vaughn-Wilson comedy for a lecture. They go to see a couple of guys who are on their comedic game, and that's just what the two actors deliver. Rated PG-13; sexuality, crude humor, partying, language. 1 hour, 59 minutes. By Cary Darling, Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

"The Kings of Summer"★★★

Director Jordan Vogt-Roberts, a TV writer and an online Funny or Die vet (he's also a former metro Detroiter who grew up in Royal Oak) concocted this amusing, sentimental tale about three Midwestern boys who decide to run away from home, build a shack in the woods and live off the land for a summer. More than anything, the Sundance Film Festival hit is a teen boy fantasy that involves roughing it, impressing the girls and coming of age. For a 2013 teen comedy, "Kings of Summer" is awfully nostalgic, and it skillfully walks the fine line between sentiment and snark. It's a tale of nature and nurture and first love that manages more charm than any R-rated movie about horny teens has a right to. Rated R; language, teen drinking. 1 hour, 33 minutes. By Roger Moore, McClatchy-Tribune News Service.

"The Purge"★

In the not-distant future, "the New Founding Fathers" have decided to give Americans one night a year when they can give in to their most violent impulses. Murder and mayhem abound and first responders have the night off. The well-off can hunt the homeless, the weak and those who don't contribute to society. People out for revenge can seek it. Ethan Hawke plays a family man with a wife and two kids whose home is invaded during the annual purge after his son tries to rescue a homeless vet who's being hunted. Lapses in logic abound, and the family's plan of defense is laughable. Director James DeMonaco tries too hard to drive home his points about social Darwinism, and his movie is ultimately little more than a clumsy lecture about what America is becoming: haves vs. have-nots, with the haves armed to the teeth. Rated R; strong violence, language. 1 hour, 25 minutes. By Roger Moore, McClatchy-Tribune News Service.

"Star Trek Into Darkness"★★★

Director J.J. Abrams pushes the "Star Trek" franchise into new territory while keeping a nostalgic eye trained on what has come before. The set-up is simple: A terrorist named John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch), a former Starfleet member, detonates a bomb in London that kills hundreds. Although the USS Enterprise is supposed to be used primarily for scientific exploration, Capt. James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) and the rest of his crew are ordered to perform a military mission: Track down Harrison on the planet Kronos even if it means invading Klingon airspace, which could be considered an act of war. One of the things that distinguishes "Into Darkness" from most of the previous movies in the franchise is the number of big surprises the story springs. It also contains some unexpectedly moving moments, so bring tissues. The cast is a true ensemble, but it is Abrams who is the real star. He has the enthusiasm of a fan, a thorough grasp of storytelling and a superb command of craftsmanship and style. Rated PG-13; intense sci-fi action and violence. 2 hours, 12 minutes. By Rene Rodriguez, McClatchy Newspapers.

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Recent releases: 'Man of Steel,' 'This Is the End,' 'The Purge'

If every generation gets the Superman it deserves, 'Man of Steel' from director Zack Snyder ('300) suggests we've earned one utterly without wit or charm.